Chapter Fifty-Nine Faith

Faith felt almost faint. Could Diane be right? Was it almost over?

Sanders was dead. The genius behind the fertility trials could experiment no more.

Whilst the noise at the door hadn't abated, the microglass was holding. The guards seemed no nearer to gaining entry than they had been five minutes ago.

Hammond was in no state to protect her chancellor. Noah had secured her hands behind her back, just to be sure. But despite the terrifying delay, the metraxilone had taken effect, totally incapacitating the lieutenant.

Susie hovered in the corner of the lab, her fingers fluttering nervously. She wasn't a threat, even though Diane was no longer standing over her.

Best of all, Danforth was powerless. Her drug supply was all-but gone. She had no victims left to experiment on. Madeleine had taken possession of the wallet filled with Sanders' research. And the chancellor was their prisoner. Tomorrow, she would be forced to face the wrath of her people.

Faith turned back to Madeleine. A sudden movement caught her eye.

"Look out!" she cried.

But it was too late. Taking advantage of their distraction, Danforth had shot to her feet. Grasping Ruth's hand, she twisted the gun towards Madeleine.

"No!" Faith screamed.

She launched herself at them, pushing the weapon away. For a moment, they were falling. She fought to keep her balance as a gunshot split the air.

As the three of them crashed to the floor, the weapon skittered out of Danforth's hand. Madeleine rushed forward.

"Oh no, you don't." She pushed the chancellor flat on her back and thrust her knee into the centre of her chest. "You're not going anywhere."

Faith scrambled up, gasping for breath. Beside her, Ruth moaned.

Faith turned to her. Noah's best friend was clutching her side, where a wound was leaking blood.

"Ruth!" Faith pressed her hands against the wound. "How did you–?"

"My knife." Ruth gestured to a small blade on the ground beside her. "I f-fell on it."

As the blood continued to ooze between Faith's fingers, she searched for something to stem the flow. The hospital gown she wore was too flimsy.

"Faith!" Noah was already pulling off his sweatshirt. He tossed it to her, his face white. "Press hard. We have to stem the bleeding. ‘Til we can get her some help."

Faith caught it with her free hand. Balling the garment up, she pushed it against the wound as hard as she could.

"You'll be okay," she murmured, her eyes glued to Ruth's pained face. "They'll be here soon. They'll sort you right out." She leaned closer. "It's a good thing you were here, really. The Bellator medical facilities are far superior to the Eremus ones."

Ruth managed a smile at the feeble joke. Squeezing her hand, Faith turned to scan the room again.

The guards at the door had stopped hammering. Faith found herself hoping that they'd given up. Hammond had passed out. Noah's worried gaze was fixed on Ruth. Madeleine had her gun trained on Danforth now. The two were locked in a staring match, their eyes filled with hatred.

"Excuse me?" Faith's eyes settled on Susie, whose face was paler than ever. "Your friend. Diane, is it?"

As a group, they turned. One by one, their faces drained of colour. A few feet away, Diane lay on the ground, her body ominously still. A pool of blood had formed underneath her, pouring from a wound in her chest.

"I think… the bullet…" Susie began. "It was over very quickly."

Sensing the others' grief, she fell silent.

Danforth was far less tactful. "Not quite my intended target," she drawled, "but at least my bullet found a home somewhere."

"Really?" Madeleine swung to face her. "She's barely twenty years old!"

Danforth rolled her eyes. "Does her age make a difference? When all's said and done, she was a trial subject." She spoke slowly and deliberately. "In the grand scheme of things, Madeleine, she doesn't really matter."

The Resistance leader's eyes flashed.

"Ignore her," Faith pleaded. "She's trying to bait you. Don't–"

But it was too late. As the second shot in as many minutes reverberated through the room, Faith recoiled, covering her face with her hands. When she forced herself to look up, Danforth was dead.

Madeleine sat back on her heels, her face white. "I'm sorry…" Her voice shook. "But I couldn't… I just couldn't…"

Faith had never seen the Resistance leader so emotional. But she understood why. Listening to Danforth's poison, with Diane's body not two feet away, had been too much.

They had wanted Danforth to face her people. To be tried by the women she had betrayed. But by taunting Madeleine, the chancellor had secured herself an easy exit. Denied them justice.

For a few seconds, the room was quiet. And then multiple footsteps pounded up the hallway towards them.

"Madeleine!" Someone was hammering on the door. "Madeleine, are you there?" A brief hesitation. "It's Evelyn. Can you let me in? We've neutralized the guard threat." Another pause. When Evelyn spoke again, her voice was filled with concern. "Madeleine? Unlock the door so we can come in and help."

The words were welcome. But as Noah stumbled towards the door, Faith felt no sense of triumph.